Just under a week ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs clinched a spot in the playoffs for the 7th consecutive season.
After Saturday’s games concluded, the Tampa Bay Lightning clinched a playoff spot, and with no other Atlantic division team able to catch the Lightning or the Leafs, and neither being able to catch up to the Bruins, it confirmed we will see a rematch of last year’s Toronto Maple Leafs vs Lightning series.
The Leafs will be looking to change the result they faced last year, ultimately losing in game 7 after being ahead in the series 3-2. The team added multiple players to their team this year in hopes that the players can bring killer instinct as well as depth scoring, to finally push them out of the first round.
At this point, it really seems to be a mind game. The Leafs are a very good team as has been proven in the regular season on multiple occasions, and even in the playoffs, where despite losing, it’s not like they’ve played badly.
Toronto Maple Leafs Set for Round 1 Rematch
With the first-round matchup already set, the rest of the regular season may seem pointless to many, but there are a couple of reasons why it’s still important.
First of all, The Leafs have yet to lock in home-ice advantage. It may seem less important nowadays but with the Leafs’ and more specifically Samsonov’s home ice stats, home ice seems to be making a difference.
It’s not just applicable to round one though. If the team is able to make it to round 3 or 4 of the playoffs, if they’re able to finish the season strong, they may end up with home-ice advantage in those rounds.
Second, depth players still need to fight for roster spots. With Zohorna, Lafferty, Aston-Reese, Simmonds, among others being just on the edge of a roster spot, it would be good for them to get chances to win a spot in the lineup for playoffs. It’s important for lines to have time to build chemistry, but there are still arguably a couple of roster slots that can be fought for.
This also includes Arizona native, Matthew Knies. With Knies only being available for 3 games before the end of the season, the chances of him immediately making an impact in the playoffs are lower, but those 3 games will be important games, assuming he signs with the Leafs. He has the potential to be a solid player for this team, but we will see if that’s able to happen this year or will have to wait until next year.
With the playoffs just a couple of weeks away, excitement and nerves are on the rise as many fans anxiously await the result of the Toronto Maple Leafs playoff run. Will the team cave in and suffer another round 1 exit, or will they be able to push through and make a long playoff run? We’ll have to find out, but luckily we won’t have to wait too long.